The opening ceremony for Longlive Town-- a new heath preserving and tourism themed town – was held at Hai'an in Nantong, a city of East China's Jiangsu province, on Oct 1, according to local officials.

Health preservation is the ancient branch of Chinese medicine that advocates protecting people’s health through, among other things, massage and a healthy diet, sports, rest and scheduled work.

Hai'an officials said that at present there are eight functional areas in the new town.

One is a wetland area, which integrates recreation, culture, leisure and tourism -- and takes into account the functions of wetland ecological restoration, health preserving education.

According to local authorities, the construction of such a purpose-built town is an effective way to speed up the area's urbanization. It is also an important measure to resolve the dual structure of urban and rural areas and improve the living environment.

They said it is an effective way to speed up new urbanization, also an important measure to crack the dual structure of urban and rural areas, improve the living environment and implement the strategy of rural revitalization.

In recent years, Hai'an has made great efforts to develop its tourism industry as a strategic pillar industry.

It has actively leveraged its attractive and appealing environment, its position as a transport hub and its human resources. Officials said this has accelerated its integration into the developing Yangtze River Delta tourism sector.

Officials said the new health and tourism-themed town will take advantage of core scenic spots in the Lixiahe tourism area -- and it is the largest single tourism industry project created by Hai'an in recent years.